Weighing apparatus for packaging onions and the like



Feb. 28, 1933. D. R. c. SMITH ETAL WEIGHING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ONIONS AND THE LIKE Filed April 15, 1929 WITNESS. l B l TTONEYZ Patented Feb. 28, 19323 UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE DAVID B. C. SMITH AND JOHN H. COULTER, OF CANASTOTA, NEW YORK WEIGHING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING ONIONS AND THE LIKE Application led. April 15,

This invention relates to apparatus for packaging onions and other vegetables or fruits in relatively small quantities Vof predetermined weight for wholesale or retail 5 use.

It is well-known that onions and the like are Vencased in more or less useless husks particularly after they have ,beenl removed from the ground and have been exposed to the atmosphere for any considerable period of time and While the present invention may be used for packaging other vegetables and fruits it is specifically designed for the packaging of onions.

The main Objectis to provide simple and efficient means for automatically removing and separating the husks ,from the onions and simultaneously packaging the husked onions in relatively small bags or cartons of predetermined weights or measures ready for retailing to the consumers and thereby relieving the retailer from the laborious process of measuring out small quantities from bulk stock to suit the demands of the consumer,

2li all of which greatly reduces the expense of handling the onions between the producer and consumer.

Other objects anduses relating to specific parts of the apparatus *will be brought out 'in' the following description. 4

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View, partly in section, of an apparatus for husking onions,

s removing the husked onions and weighing 36 the same.

Figure 2 is a top plan of the conveyor belt used in connection with the huskin mechanism showing kalso the means for eflecting the onions from the belt at any point in the 40 travel of the upper side thereof.

As illustrated, this device comprises a tubular cylindrical drum 1 having opposite end flanges 2 which are journaled upon roller bearings 3 to permit the drum to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis, the rollers 3 being located equal distances from and at opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the drum 1, the rollers 3 at at least one side of the drum may be connected by a suitable driving shaft 4 having at 1929. Serial No. 355,274.

its one end a pulley 5 adapted to be connected to said available source of power, not shown. The entire weight of the drum is borne by the rollers 3 which are provided with annular grooves in which the flanges 2 rest to 55 hold the drum against relative endwise movenient, it being understood that the shaft 4 will also be held against endwise movement by any suitable bearings 6.

The rotation of one or the other sets of 6 rollers 3 through the medium of the connecting shaft 4 serves to rotate the drum more or less slowly about its axis.

The drum 1 is provided with an internal screw, consisting of blades 7 projecting in- 65 wardly from the inner periphery thereof but relatively short radially or of just sullicient radial depth to assure the feeding of the onions which may be deposited into the interior of the drum from one end to the opposite end thereof as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

An endless belt 8 is extended horizontally through and beyond the opposite ends of the drum 1 in a plane slightly below but parallel 75 with the axis thereof, said belt having its opposite ends supported upon suitable pulleys 9 which, in turn, are mounted upon coaxial shafts l0 extending axially through and beyond the ends of the drums of the pulley 9, 3 as shown in Figure 2.

The outer ends of the shafts 10 are connected by lengthwise guide rods 11 extending along opposite sides of the belt 8 in proximity thereto for receiving and supporting a slidable cross head 12 having apertured bearings through which the rods ll are passed.

This cross head 12 is movable lengthwise of and upon the rods 11 between the lower and upper sides of the belt 8 and is provided with 90 a defiecting plate 13 extending diagonally across the upper surface of the top side of the belt closely adjacent thereto and has its opposite ends connected to the cross head 12 at opposite edges of the belt and in suiliciently spaced relation thereto to permit free movement of the upper side of the belt without friction with the cross head 12 or deilecting plate 13.

This defiecting plate 13 is inclined hori- 100 zontally in the direction of movement of the upper side of the belt 8 as indicated by arrow Figure 2, and is provided midway between its ends with an opening 14 extending upwardly from the lower edge thereof a suiiicient height to allow the onions carried by the belt to pass therethrough, the width of the opening 14 being approximately equalto the width of the adjacent portion of the belt so as to allow all of the onions which may rest upon the upper sideof the belt to readily pass through the opening 14 unless the latter is closed.

The opening 14 is, however, provided with a closure 15 adapted to be moved vertically to and from a position across the opening 14 in suitable guides, not shown, on the deflecting plate 13as shown in Figure 2.

VAsY previously stated7 this deecting plate 13 and its supporting cross head 12 are ad justable to different positions along the guide rods 11 between the opposite ends of the drum 1 and may be setand locked in any position of'adjustment by means of a set screw 16, the position ,of the deflecting plate depending upon the condition of the onions to be husked. That is, the husks of some onions may be more numerous, looser and drier than others and, therefore,rmay require a shorter period Vof tumbling in the drum 1 than those having firmer and more edible layers and the primary obj ect of the deflecting plate 13 and its adjustability along the belt 8 is to enable the onions to be deflected from the belt into the interior of the drum at dierentdistances from the receiving end of the drum according to the condition of the huslrs of the onions. l On the other hand, if the onions are fresh and all of the layers are solid and ediblethe gateor closure 15 may be opened to allow the onions to be fed/by the belt 8 entirely through the drum and through the opening 14 without deiiecting them into the drum.

A hopper 17 may be supported in any desired manner in proximity to and preferably directly over the receiving end of the belt 8 at the corresponding end of the drum 1 for receiving the onions to betreated and permitting them to be fed by gravity directly upon the upper side of the belt to be carried into or through the drum 1 as may be required according to the condition of the husks of the onions.

lA weighing scale 18 may be supported in any suitable manner in a plane below and somedistance beyond the delivery end of the druml for receiving and supporting a carton, bag or other container,A A, the weighing scales being provided with the usual platform 18 upon which the carton A is removably supported,

YA guide tube or supplemental hopper 19 may be supported upon the upright or other` fixed portion of the weighing scale 18- or upon anyl other availableV support so as to assume a position directly over the open upper end of the carton or bag A but below the delivery end of the drum 1.

A guide chute 2O is suitably supported at the delivery end of the drum 1 to extend downwardly and forwardly from the lower side thereof with its lower end directly over the supplemental hopper 19 for guiding the onions from the delivery end of the tube 1 into said hopper and thence into the container A. Y

A similar but reversely inclined chute 21 is supported at the delivery end of the belt 8 to receive the onions therefromand to'convey'them into the guide chute 20.

A suction pump or blower 22 may besupported in any ,suitable position preferably at the rear of the drum 1 and is provided with a suitable nozzle 23 in close proximity to the delivery end of the chute 20 for removing the husks which may have been separated from the onions in transit through the drum 1, said husks being conducted from the pump through a delivery tube 24 to any place of deposit away from the husked onions.

Suitable means is provided for automatically cutting of the feed of the husked onions from the chute 2O into the receptacle A when the onions in the receptacle reach a, precietermined weight as indicated by the weighing scales 18 and for this purpose the free end of the movable member or weighing beam -aof the scale may form an electric conductor as the movable part of an electric switch toY contact with` a pair -of terminals 25 of an electric circuit 26 deriving current fromthe main line circuit B so that when the quantity of onions deposited in the container A reaches a predetermined weight as indicated by the scales 18 the elevation of the free end of the movable member 8 will close the circuit 26 through. a solenoid 27 in said circuit.

`This solenoid is provided with a movable core or plunger having one end constituting a movable switch member 28 and its other end serving as a locking member 29 for a purpose hereinafter described.

An electric motor 30 is connected by a wire 31 across the solenoid circuit 26tl1rough the. medium of normally separatedV switch terminals 32 which are adapted to beengaged by the adjacent endy 28 of the solenoid plunger for closing the circuit through the motor when the solenoid is energized in the manner previously described.

Itis nowevident that the. electric motor 30 is controlled b v the solenoid switch 28 and that the energizing-of the solenoid is controlled by the movable member -aof the carrying scales so .that instantly upon the filling of the container A, tothe required weight the solenoid switch member 28m ay be operated; toclose the circuit through the motor, 3Q.

Suitable means is provided for displacing the container A from the platform 18 of the weighing scales as soon as it is filled with onions of predetermined weight indicated by the scales and simultaneously with the energizing of the solenoid 27 and for this purpose is provided a rotary disk 33 which may be supported in any suitable manner and is adapted to be driven by a motor 30 through the medium of a belt 34, Figure 1.

A push rod 35 is provided with a bearing 36 for reciprocal movement across the upper surface of the platform 18 of the weighing scales for the purpose of displacing the filled container A from said platform, said push rod being connected by a pitman 37 to the disk 33 at one side of its aXis of rotation and a sufficient distance from said axis to cause the displacement of the container entirely froln the platform at each revolution of the dis The disk 33 is provided with a peripheral notch 38 which is normally engaged by the locking member 29 of the solenoid 27 and is yieldingly held in its locking position by a spring 49.

When the disk 33 is locked against rotation by its locking member 29 the push rod 35 will be withdrawn to one side of the platform 18 of the scales to allow the container A to stand squarely thereon and to permit replacement of empty containers after the filled containers have been removed.

It is now evident that at practically the same instant that the required weight of the onions is deposited in the container A the solenoid circuit 26 will be closed by contact of the member -a- With the terminals 25 thereby closing the motor circuit for operating the motor at which time the locking member 29 will be withdrawn from the notch 38 in the disk 33 to permit said disk to be rotated by the motor for causing the push rod 35 to displace the filled container A from the platform 18.

Immediately upon the displacement of the filled container from the platform, the weighing beam -aof the scales will be moved by its own weight out of contact with the terminals 25 to open the solenoid circuit and allow the locking member 29 to be returned to its locking position by the spring 39 as soon as the notch 38 is registered with the locking member 29 or at the end of one complete revolution of the disk which displaces the carton A from the platform 18 and immediately returns the push rod 35 to its starting position.

Instantly upon the return of the solenoid plunger to its locking position it will also break the motor circuit to stop the motor circuit and at the same time stop the motor through the medium of the belt connection 34 between the disk 33 and motor shaft.

Suitable means is also provided for stopping the flow of the onions from the chute 20 into the hopper 19 simultaneously with the closing of the solenoid circuit 26 or immediately upon the filling of the container A to the required weight and for this purpose a rotary cam 40 is supported in any desired manner and operatively connected by a belt 41 tothe shaft of the motor 30.

This cam 40 is adapted to operate a push rod 42 against the retracting spring 43, said push rod being reciprocally movable in a relative stationary bearing 44.

The push rod 42 is connected by a link 45 to one arm of a bell crank lever 46 which may be pivotally supported in any desired manner adjacent the lower end of the chute 20 and is provided with a series of radially projecting fingers 47 which are movable in slots 48 in the bottom of the lower end of the chute 2O to project across the path of movement of the onions along the chute for temporarily stopping the flow of the onions from the chute to the hopper immediately upon the filling of the container A with onions to the required weight.

The cam 40 is arranged to operate the push rod 42 and gate 47 controlled thereby once during each revolution of the disk 33 or immediately upon the filling of the container A to the required weight and resultant energizing of the solenoid 27 in the manner previously explained.

In other words, the cam 40 is constructed and timed to close the gate 47 immediately upon the operation of the push rod 35 for displacing the filled container A from the platform 18 and to return to its normal position simultaneously with the return of the push rod 35.

It, therefore, follows that the disk 33 and cam disk 40 will be simultaneously rotated one complete revolution at a time to effect the simultaneous operation of the cut-off 47 and push rod 35 from their normal positions shown by full lines, Figure 1, to their operative positions.

As the filled containers A are displaced from the platform 18 of the weighing scales by the push rod 35 they are deposited upon a separate support 49 which may be another conveyonbelt or its equivalent for removing the filled containers as fast as they are displaced from the weighing scales.

It will be noted from the foregoing description of the operation of the machine that the process consists, as previously stated. in automatically removing the loose husks from the onions. removing the husks, conducting the husked onions into a suitable container.

We claim:

1. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a scale upon which the individual ycontainers to be filled and weighed are suc- 7 cessively placed, mechanism for feeding the material to be weighed into the container on thescale, an velectric; motor, a rotary cam driven by the motor, means controlled by the scale for controlling the operation of the motor, and means actuated by the cam for stopping the flow of the material into the container on the scale when the latter is operated by a predetermined weight of the container and material therein.

2. In a weighing apparatus, the combination of a scale upon which the individual containers to be filled and weighed are successivelyy placed, mechanism for feeding the material to be weighed into the container on the scale, a rotary disk, means normally locking the disk against rotation, means controlled by the scale for releasing the locking means, means for rotating the disk when released, and a push rod actuated by the disk for displacing the contain-er with the material therein from the scale.

8. The combination with a weighing scale upon which the individual containers to be lled and weighed are successively placed, and means for feeding material into the container on the scale, of a rotary element, means including a detent for normally holding said element against rotation, means brought into action by the operation of said scale when the container and material therein reaches a predetermined weight for tripping the detent, means for rotating said element when the detent is tripped, and means actuated by the rotation of lsaid element for cutting olf the feed of material to the container.

4. The combination with a weighing scale upon which the individual containers to be filled and weighed are successively placed, and means for feeding material into the container on the scale, of rotary actuators connected for simultaneous rotation, a detent normally holding both of s'aid actuators against rotation, means brought into action by the operation of the scale through the weight of the container and material therein for tripping the detent, means for rotating the actuators when the detent is tripped, means actuated by one of the actuators for cutting o the feed of material to the container, and means actuated by the other actuator for displacing the charged container from the scale.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 1st day of April, 1929.

DAVID R. C. SMITH.

JOHN H. COULTER. 

